What a beautiful day to be sailing! Winds were around 10 from the S and SSW all day long. The very edge of a squall came through late and gave us just a few drops of rain and a little extra wind. Khin Thein gave us 4 races including a W2, two W3s, and another W2 or W1.
Come on out and join us on Day 2. It isn’t too late!
(The results for day 1 are attached.)
PRSA_spring11_Albacore_Overall
PRSA_spring11_Buccaneer_Overall
PRSA_spring11_Hobie_Overall
PRSA_spring11_Lightning_Overall
Another great day of racing this past Sunday. It started off light, but then it kicked in and we got a perfect 8-10 kt southerly. Eric Hakanson was our intrepid PRO for the day, ably assisted by members of the Lightning Fleet. In spite of the fact that the Lightnings lost 2 boats to RC duty, we put 10 boats on the line. 3 Albacores came out to play even though most of the fleet was away at a regatta. We had 4 Hobies and 2 Buccaneers to round out the competitors. Eric set up a nice Windward-Leeward course for us and smartly got off 4 races in the building breezes. What a day. Check out the scores here:
This Saturday and Sunday is our annual Spring Regatta, so don’t miss it!! Then the following Sunday we close out the Spring Series with a bang.
Next weekend is our annual Spring Regatta. Information including the schedule, NOR and pre-registration is located on our Web site here:
http://potomacriversailing.org/SpringRegatta/
Sailing Instructions:
Upper course: 2011 PRSA Spring Regatta Upper Course SIs
Course board: Courses – simplified no graphs
Lower course: 2011 PRSA Spring Lower Course SIs
As always we will be having both an upper and lower course. Lower course will be racing Saturday only. After racing Saturday there will be a BBQ. If you are planning on sailing, please take a moment to pre-register. You can Pay online through PayPal or bring cash or a check Saturday. Hope you can make it.
Saturday:3 (or 4) races are planned
Registration: 9:00 to 10:00 near the cranes
The skipper’s meeting is at 10:00 a.m. near the cranes.
The first warning signal is at 11:30 a.m.
No warning signal after 4:00.
If sailing conditions are good on Saturday, the RC may run a 4th race, especially if the forecast for Sunday is poor.
Sunday:3 (or 4) races are planned
The first warning signal is at 11:30 a.m.
No races will be started after 3:00.
Four races will be attempted if 2 or fewer races were completed on Saturday or if sailing conditions are particularly good.
Awards as soon as possible after the last race.
Yesterday the Laser fleet conducted races for 3 Albacores, 2 Buccaneers and 3 Catamarans. Racing was conducted in the cove due to light winds, forecasted rain, and race committee boat problems. Wind for the first race was light and from the NNE, after the start of race 1 the wind shifted 90 degrees to the east and was fairly consistent thereafter. We ran 2 windward-leeward and then 3 Olympics races for the Albacores and Buccaneers for a total of 5 races. The Catamarans opted to start with the other fleets, but then raced into the river and completed 2 races. Winds steadily increased throughout the day and the forecasted rain never arrived.
It’s May already! Flowers are blooming, birds are singing, and PRSA one design sailboats are racing. Check your calendars, call your crew, get your yard work affairs all in order, and make plans to sail in the 2011 PRSA Spring Regatta on Saturday May 28 and Sunday May 29. Check out the recently posted NOR for details.
Results:
Albacores
Buccaneers
Lightnings
After a few days of heavy rains and the remnants of a front still blowing through, the conditions were tricky on the river for the third Spring Series. The gusty westerly was in the teens for most of the day, and most boats opted to run wing-and-wing downwind in the heavier stuff, waiting for the breeze to ease or for better angles away from the airport shore before popping the kite. A good start was paramount, and then keeping the boat on its feet and shifting gears became the key to success. The river level and flow were both extraordinarily high and the tide was also running out, which made for a fierce combination of current, tide flow, and near flood-stage discharge flow to combat as we sailed E-W across the river. The RC had trouble getting the windward mark to stay put, and once you did make it around, it seemed that no matter how far north you pointed the boat, you still ended up well south of the leeward mark near the channel, having to jib-reach back up to it before going upwind (and across the current once again).
The day showed the importance of having a fully staffed race committee, with 2 individuals on the mark and crash boat as well as enough hands on the Bayliner for flags, horns, writing, and scoring. Two Buccaneers did flip in the gusty conditions, and though each boat was quickly righted and continued sailing, having a crash boat at the ready to provide assistance was critical for everybody’s safety and peace of mind. As PRO Bobby Astrove noted: “I was quite nervous with today’s weather forecast. When I got to the marina at 7:45 a.m. it was hooting, high teens for wind and gusts to 30. It settled down by 9:30, we had what I think was a windy but nice day. Very strong current. Obviously had a hard time getting the windward mark to stick without a Danforth anchor. We eventually added a second anchor and that did the trick. Special thanks to all my RC helpers: Brian Bishop, Michael Brown, Rose Gentile, Catherine Calvin, Bill Buck, and Joe Warren. I thought we were going to be way short and in the end people stepped up and I thought it went well.” Great job to Bobby and the RC crew for getting us 4 races in these conditions and keeping us all safe!
In the racing, Frank (sailing with Farley and Mladin) had the hot hand, winning 3 of the 4 races (nice work Frank!). Nabeel (sailing with Craig and Stefano) followed Frank around for most of the day, but took the fourth race after a great start. Rick (sailing with Lisbet and Aaron) was also competing, as were Will, Alex, and Brian on #14395. Chris Kozell was out for the first race, but struggled with a cranky Cunningham and ended up retiring. Mark Ewing, sailing with his young son George and a friend, also joined us on the racecourse for their introduction to the Potomac’s “wacky west wind” as Jeff calls it. And speaking of Jeff, it was great to see him along with Bruce and Becky down at the Marina getting Ariel ready for future Sunday Series racing and (we hope) the Potomac Cup. Glad to see you!
After the racing we gathered in the picnic area for some food, drink and good cheer. A few folks who hadn’t made it out for the racing (as well as a few family members who had strolled down to the marina) joined us around the grill. The wind gusted up far beyond anything we had seen on the racecourse as we traded stories, but with some warm sunshine (finally!) we all enjoyed a great end to the afternoon.
There is no racing next weekend due to Easter, but we’ll look for you all in two weeks for the next Spring Series–the final chance to tune up before the Doc Gilbert Potomac Cup on May 7-8. Make sure you’ve signed up!
Cheers,
Aaron
This Wednesday the 30th is going to be our second onshore training
event. Erich Hesse will lead a discussion on racing rules simplified.
Come on out and bring your crew, this is a great opportunity to get up to speed on the rules of racing. This event is open to the public and is free so tell all your friends and co-workers who might be interested.
Then this Sunday April 3rd kicks off our first Spring Series. We will
be having a BBQ social event after sailing. PRSA will supply hot dogs
and beer. Would be nice if we could have some volunteers bring some additional food such as chips/dip, chili, corn bread, potato salad or anything else. So plan on hanging out after racing. Cross your fingers that we’ll have good weather. See you on the water.
Scott
The racing schedule and a variety of educational events have been scheduled! Take a look at the calendar link (left side of home page) or here. The Sunday series starts on April 3.
What a beautiful day to be on the water. Temps were in the 70’s, winds from the south @ 8-12. They just don’t get any better than that. Rick Welch was the PRO for the day and he and his able crew of Lightning and Buccaneer RC did an outstanding job. they set up a really nice windward/leeward course off of Haines Point, and snapped out 4 nice races with little to no down time in between them. Well done guys (and gals). The most notable thing on the day was the awesome turnout of Albacores. 9! count ’em 9 Albs came out to play. The Stim-you-later certainly did his job. Also in attendance were 2 Cats and 5 Lightnings for this great day of sailing. Scores after the break:
2 Albacores, 3 Buccaneers, 3 Cats, and 6 Lightnings went out to play on Sunday 10/17/2010. I was not out there, so i can’t give a complete description of the day, but it must have been fast and furious as the Lightnings got in 6 races, and everyone else got in 5 before calling it a day. Scores after the break: